Copper Valley
by TrueOncers
Summary: Copper Valley is a small town, but a lovely one it is. One day a man called Mr. Gold walks in and bumps into this gorgeous woman. Her name is Belle French, a young lady putting all her love and hope in her library and its books. "It's a mysterious town" she once said, the town suits Mr. Gold very well. - DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters of ABC's Once Upon A Time!
1. A brunette

**Chapter 1: A brunette **

It was a lovely day, the sky was fully blue and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. A soft breeze swished through the tall grass which was settled along the side of the road.

'_Welcome to Copper Valley' _was showed on a green sign a bit further along the road. He parked his car in a parking spot next to a lunchroom, why not get some lunch during the trip? He walked into the building, meeting a blonde girl in a red uniform.

"Welcome to 'The Rose!' Can I take your coat sir?" the girl said with a small smile on her face.

"Well that would be great, thank you." He replied and he gave his coat to her with a gentle smile.

He ate his lunch calmly, enjoying the lovely toasted sandwich with brie cheese, honey and a sprinkle of walnuts. He paid and then went for a walk in the town called Copper Valley. He couldn't just get in the car and drive away.

That's when he saw it, a beautiful and very big library. It was a bit further on than the lunchroom had been.

"Goodbye mister Johnson!" he heard a young lady saying when he stepped into the library. He walked along the tasteful stone floor and saw the wooden bookshelves decorating the walls and the centre of the library. The shelves were so high that you needed ladder to be able to reach the top. He couldn't believe his eyes, it was amazing!

And then he bumped into someone else "Can't you watch out?" he said annoyed by the fact that he had gotten thrown from his track of thoughts.

"I, I am so sorry sir. I didn't meant to…" the young girl's cheeks became red and the man looked up, finding her bright blue eyes. It was the young lady who had bid farewell to the man who was leaving as he entered a few minutes before. She wore a beautiful dark red skirt, paired with a white translucent blouse, a black blazer and some high black heels, opened toe ones. Twenty five years old he thought. But most perfect, her curled, brown hair tied up in a loose side ponytail. An extra special brunette.

"Never mind my lady." He said as he went down to help her pick up the books she had accidently dropped on the floor.

"Thank you very much…" she said whilst picking up some other books from the floor.

"Mister Gold." He reached out his hand to shake hers "That's my name."

"Belle, Belle French." She giggled as she took the books and placed them on the reception desk.

"I've never seen you before. Are you new in this town?"

"I'm actually on my way home, but I wanted to walk the streets of this little town before I leave."

"Well Copper Valley is a mysterious place. Maybe somewhere you would like?" She winked at him and looked down right after as if debating whether that was the right choice.

"So you think I'm mysterious?" Mr. Gold laughed still standing in front of her.

"Well most of the time people say their first name, Mr. Gold."

"I'm not an open-minded person." He said and winked at her, walking towards the doors.

"Can I maybe help you with something?" Belle said and Mr. Gold turned around.

"You already helped me by giving me such a delightful moment in this library, it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss French."

"You can just call me Belle, sir." She laughed before she watched him walk out of the library with a smile on his face.

A bit later, she took the books from the desk and started to slot them back into their places on the shelves again.

"Belle? Belle are you there?" she heard.

"Daddy!" she said as she saw her dad walking in the library.

Her dad owned a flower shop in Copper Valley, he had the most gorgeous flowers she had ever seen. He always wanted her to take over the shop, but she wasn't really into taking care of the flowers.

"Are you alright? Who was that man?" he asked her, concerned about the fact that he had never seen him before.

"Oh dad I'm totally fine, I'm great actually! And about that man, he just came to town for a brief moment. He said he was on his way home and wanted to see Copper Valley for a bit."

"So he didn't bother you?"

"Actually, no! He was very nice and even helped me pick up some books from the floor. I um… I accidently bumped into the man dropped the books I was holding." She said feeling a bit clumsy as she told him what happened.

"Then it's alright my sweetheart, would you like to join me for dinner at my place?"

"I would love to." And Belle smiled at her dad, taking her purse and locking the doors with her library keys. Her dad gave her coat to her and she put it on together with a red tartan scarf. He put his arm around her waist, as a sign of protection as if anything could happen to her. Just a fathers touch she thought.

Belle enjoyed the autumn leaves falling down on the path they walked upon. You could say it had been an extraordinary day.

He arrived home later that day, Mr. Gold's house wasn't even an hour's driving from Copper Valley.

It was all dark in his house, it was a extravagant house however. But he was all alone and there wasn't anything to do other than watch TV or read a book. So he just got into his bed and went to sleep, still thinking about Copper Valley.


	2. Quite a wonderful day

**Chapter 2: Quite a wonderful day**

She walked over the pavement, searching in her bag for the library keys. It was freezing outside, you could see the white frost on the green grass which was settled on the side of the road.

She unlocked the grand doors of the enormous building, her loveable library. She opened one of the two double doors, closing it behind her after she had entered. It felt a lot more comfortable in the warm library. So she pulled off her leather gloves and put her scarf behind the reception desk.

Now it was a matter of arranging the floors and waiting for the residents to come over.

"_Catch it daddy, catch it!" the little Belle and her dad were playing outside the house and the ball fell in the snow as her dad was supposed to catch it. _

"_Moe, their coming…" her mother said from where she stood in the doorway which lead to the kitchen. _

"_Belle, we need to get inside okay? It's getting cold and maybe we can watch a Disney film together?" Belle nodded as her dad pulled her up to take her inside. They both got inside and Belle began walking up the stairs to take her place in her room, her dad told her to stay there as he would come for her a little later on. _

_A knock came at the door, they knew what was going to happen so Belle's dad opened the door to find a man standing there. _

"_We don't have the money to pay the rent for the house, mister…." _

"_Shut up." The man interrupted Belle's dad as he pushed him away. "You know what the deal was, you should pay everything off or…" he smirked, making his way up to Belle's room. _

"_Stop!" Belle's mom yelled, "You're not taking her away, I'll go with you instead." There she stood, a poor woman in a dark red coloured dress. Ready to leave her family to save her daughter. _

"_Well, I think you can do more for me than your precious daughter can. We have a deal." _

"_No! You're not taking her away." Belle's dad wanted to grab his wife's arm to keep her safe but she stepped back out of heroism._

"_I'm sorry dearie, the deal is struck." He said and he walked away with Moe's wife, Belle's mom. _

"_I love you Moe…" she said before disappearing into the car._

Belle heard the library door swing open, "Good morning! How can I…" she stopped talking when she saw Mr. Gold walking inside.

"Well what a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Gold! I thought you were travelling home?" she asked as she placed the books she held onto a shelf as he walked over to her.

"I did, but I liked it so much here that… I wanted to come back right away." He smiled at her helping her with the books.

"Would you like to join me for some lunch? There's a little kitchen above the library so…"

He interrupted her softly, "Well what if I take you to The Rose, the lunchroom around the corner?"

And she didn't know how to react. The man just came into town and wanted to take her to an expensive lunchroom? She was a bit nervous by the fact of him asking her, but why not? He's a special guest in town.

"I like that idea better than the kitchen upstairs. Thank you, Mr. Gold." She replied with a blush.

"No, thank you, Miss. French."

They both walked out the library and Belle locked the door which she always did between noon and half past one. They walked over to The Rose where they had a delicious lunch together. She had never been to the perfect little lunchroom before then, though, it was quite expensive and she didn't have a lot of money. The library had cost her everything she had.

They had laughed a lot, talked about living in Copper Valley, about how she loved books so much and all kind of interesting things. He made her smile but he didn't smile much. She had that sparkle in her eyes when she chuckled and an accent you wouldn't forget.

"Thank you for taking me out, sir." She said.

"It was my pleasure Miss. French." He replied whilst opening the library door for her.

"I gotta go back to work as I still need to tidy up some of the shelves."

"That's fine, I enjoyed having lunch with you." He smiled as he put his coat on.

Belle softly grabbed his arm as she stood in front of him, "I enjoyed it too, I loved talking to you, Mr. Gold." She said in a sarcastic tone, as really, he wasn't much of a talker. He loved the way she thought he was mysterious, it made him feel special.

He walked out the building wishing Belle a good day. He opened his car seeing the suitcase he packed earlier that morning. He didn't want to go back home, so he decided he would stay there, in copper valley, grabbing all of his important necessities and placing them into his suitcase.

"I really need to find my own place in this town." He said to himself.


	3. The other man

_**Chapter 3: The other man**_

"Good morning daddy!" Belle walked over to her father who had walked into the library. He had his coat closed at it was a bit frosty outside. Belle had just opened the library, so it was still empty.

"Good morning my princess." He said giving his daughter a hug and a kiss on her cheek. "You just opened?"

"Yes I did, I thought I'd begin early so I could clean up a bit."

"Well then, I have to go to the flower shop if I want to make it on time. Can I bring you anything for lunch?"

"No I'm fine, I might have some lunch with a friend." She said smiling at her dad.

"Okay honey, have a nice day!" he left the building as Belle started to clean up. You could hear her black pumps ticking on the wooden floor. Belle's soft pink skater skirt was paired with a white transparent top and a light grey knitted vest. Her hair was half pinned up in a bun, the rest of her curls fell over her shoulders.

"Good morning miss French." She heard from behind her, it was Mr. Gold.

"Mr. Gold! What brings you here?"

"Well I just moved in, to Copper Valley I mean." He walked over to the library desk as he laid his coat down on the wooden surface.

"I told you that you would like it!" she took a brief pause, "A mysterious town…"

She got interrupted before she could say, "For a mysterious man."

And a moment of silence fell, Mr. Gold came closer to her as they still didn't say anything. He was mysterious as Belle already said, and Belle felt attracted to those men. He was what you could call an adventure.

"I have something for you." He said.

"Well, normally I would give you a present as a 'welcome to Copper Valley' gift." She said smiling at him.

He took her hand "Well, I do this differently." And he pulled a little box out of his pocket. It was a little silver bracelet with a closed book that attached the two parts of the bracelet. He put the bracelet around her wrist and closed the clasp.

"Here you go." He said letting go of her wrist.

"It's… It's beautiful. I cannot accept this Mr. Gold."

"Well you cannot return it as I won't take it back. It's yours now, miss French." He smiled at her.

"Well…" she stopped talking, giving him a soft and gentle kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, and welcome to Copper Valley." She said giving him a wink.

"Belle my lady, are you there?" Mr. Gold and Belle turned around to the double door.

"Gaston, what are you doing here?" She said while he walked over to her.

"Your dad asked me to bring you some lunch."

"But I told him I was going to grab some lunch with a friend."

"And who would this friend be?"

"Me." Mr. Gold said, "Mr. Gold, nice to meet you." He said giving the young man his hand.

"Gaston, Belle's boyfriend." He said still holding Belle's lunch bag.

"Belle's what?" Mr. Gold asked feeling surprisingly empty hearted.

"Gaston, thank you for the lunch but I told my dad that I didn't need it…" But before she could finish her sentence he planted a kiss on her lips, which she pulled away from, "What are you doing?!"

"It's fine, I.. I need to go home, unpack my stuff." Then he went, Mr. Gold went over to the desk to pick up his coat and walk out.

"Mr. Gold, please…" Belle begged him.

"I… I'll see you around Belle."

Mr. Gold walked out of the building and to his new home.

"Well I guess you've lost a friend Belle, but you still have me." Gaston pulled himself close to Belle, pushing her against the wall and kissing her on the neck.

"Gaston stop…"

But he didn't stop, he pulled her knitted vest up. The vest slowly falling off of Belle's arms as he started kissing her.

"Gaston, I said stop."

Still he didn't stop, he pulled her up so her legs would be around his waist against the wall, and then Belle pushed him away.

"I said stop! Can't you listen for once?!"

"Oh, come on Belle."

"You're such an asshole Gaston! We're over, leave me alone. And tell my dad we will never ever get married, even if it's his biggest wish."

Gaston was a man with a rich family. Belle's dad wanted them to marry as soon as possible. He had a lot of money which meant they wouldn't live in sorrows ever again.

Belle walked out of the library as the tears streamed down her face. Mr. Gold wasn't anywhere, so she went over to the local information building of their town. She asked them where he lived and then went over to his house. It was a big house, really big. She was scared, but knocked on the door even though the fear overwhelmed her so much.

The door opened "Miss French." Mr Gold greeted but he went to close his front door again.

"No please wait." Belle was shaking, she had left her coat in the library because she went straight ahead to search for his house.

Mr. Gold opened the door once again, "I've never loved him, it was a forced relationship. My dad wanted me to marry him for the money, you have to believe me Mr. Gold…"

"It's cold, come inside." Mr. Gold said as Belle walked in slowly, taking her seat on the couch as Mr. Gold took his seat next to her. "I have no right to be mad, he's your boyfriend."

"Was."

"Was?"

"I, I just broke up with him. I am a women with my own rights, am I not?"

He laid a warm blanket over her shoulders "You're shivering."

"I left my coat in the library…"

"Miss French may I ask you a question?"

"You may."

"Why do you keep saying I'm a mysterious man, what's so interesting about that?"

"Because I have a weakness for mystery, I have a weakness for people like you Mr. Gold."

And in the silence he kissed her, their tongues touching for a few brief moments. They had closed their eyes as this moment would change everything. He pulled away.

"It's getting colder, I think it's best if I bring you home."

She nodded, stepping into his car a few minutes later. He drove her to her apartment on the other side of the town, close to the library. They wished each other a good night and sweet dreams.

He had fallen in love with a librarian, in love with a young lady. His heart, was sold to Belle French.


	4. His loving heart

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to mention that I post my chapters unmarked from now on. My best friend always corrects them to make the English grammar perfect, as she's from England. But she is really busy with her school. I'm trying to do my best, so I'm sorry if my grammar isn't perfect! Enjoy the coming chapters. **

**Chapter 4: His loving heart**

She didn't sleep, not even for one second. Mr. Gold had dropped her at her apartment, and of course... Gaston had to be there. He had the key to her apartment as he spend most of his time with his "girlfriend". And because he paid for the apartment, Belle walked over to the library that night. There was this small room if you followed the wooden stairs. She had a little kitchen, bathroom and bedroom in there. She didn't need a living room as she could sit downstairs. So that's where Belle had spent her night, in the library.

She wore a grey high waisted skirt, paired with a baby pink sweater and light brown oxford shoes. It were her only flats though, she only wore heels. But she couldn't really walk on them right now as she was so tired. She just pinned up her hair in a bun very quickly, and opened the library.

"Miss French?" nothing "Belle?" Mr. Gold had come in the library after a while, Belle was sleeping on one of the leather couches. He took his seat next to the brunette.

"Belle… wake up." He said as her eyes opened.

"Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes you did…"

"Oh I'm so sorry Mr. Gold… How, how can I help you."

"By telling me how you are, Belle."

"Well I've slept in the spare room, here in the library. That's not a very good sign. I just couldn't be in my own apartment, as Gaston pays the bills… And he waited me up."

"Maybe you should close the library for a day? You deserve a day off."

"I cannot let all those people left disappointed, and where could I go?" She looked down, feeling hopeless.

"No, you cannot disappoint yourself. That's the issue. You just close the library for today okay? I'll take you to my home and you can stay as long as you wish.

And she did, she hang up the _sorry we're closed! _sign and went along with Mr. Gold where she slept on the couch for the first few hours. The man made her some lunch and tea for when she woke up, he waited in the living room for all those hours for her to wake up. He couldn't say she was his, because you cannot own a person he learned from when he was younger. But she needed help and he was happy to give it to her.

"Thanks… for the comfort." She said sipping her tea while closing her eyes.

He came to sit next to her on the couch, she still had a blanket around her shoulders and held the tea cup with two hands.

"You still wear it, the bracelet." He said pointing at her wrist.

"I didn't let go off it…" Belle said as she put the tea cup down on the lower coffee table, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Belle I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything like that okay?

"You don't, I just thanked you for letting me feel so comfortable. I meant what I said."

He wrapped the blanket around her before it fell off her shoulders, she looked him in the eyes, smiling. And laid her head against his shoulder while lifting her legs up on the couch. Mr. Gold didn't know what to do, he didn't really know the feeling of being loved. He just laid his arm around her body to feel her comfort.

She laid her hand on his chest "Why are you so stressed?"

"Stressed?" he said confused.

"You're heart, it's ticking like a time bomb."

"I um… I don't know what to expect." He said looking away.

"Look at me…" she said as he turned his head and looked her into her eyes. Those big blue eyes, they were like a thousand oceans which shown their deepest secrets.

She bended over his body and planted her lips on his, Mr. Gold moved his hand to the back of her head as Belle's body came closer until she laid on top of him. Kissing the mysterious man she truly loved. Belle laid her head down on his chest as she laid on top of his body, with the blanket over both of them.

"Don't fall asleep Miss. French."

"Please stop calling me Miss. French, I'm not your colleague. I'm Belle to you."

"What you wish for… Belle." Mr. Gold gave her a kiss on her forehead and laid his arms around the girl.

"I think I should grab my stuff, it's still in my apartment. Well, Gaston's apartment."

"Do you want me to come along?"

"I think it's better if you stay here, last time you met him it didn't went really well."

Belle unlocked the door of the apartment, no one was there. She walked upstairs in a rush, grabbed a suitcase and dropped all her clothes in it as soon as she could. So she could go back to Mr. Gold before anyone noticed. She grabbed her phone and texted him _I'm coming back now, I'm taking my car with me. –Belle. _And she closed the door of the apartment again to bump into Gaston.

"Where are you going?" he said checking on her suitcase.

"To my friend's." she wanted to pass him but he didn't let her.

"No way, it's pretty late. You're staying home with me."

"Excuse me? You have no right to treat me like that, I'm not your doll Gaston! Neither your girlfriend so let me go."

He grabbed her arm harshly so she couldn't walk to her car "I said, you're staying home."

"And I said, leave me alone." She pulled herself out of his grip and slapped him in the face as she walked over to her car, driving back to Mr. Gold.

"Belle! I thought something happened, I called you twice." He said taking her suitcase and folding his arms around her for a hug.

"Gaston got me in the last minute… He didn't want to let me go so I slapped him to get away." She started crying "I hit my ex-boyfriend…" Belle pressed her face in Mr. Gold's chest.

"It's okay now Belle, he deserved it didn't he? Otherwise you didn't hit him, you're always doing the right thing… always."


	5. Colette

**Chapter 5: Colette **

She woke up in his bed. With his blankets, his pillow… His bedroom. She'd fall asleep on the couch later that evening, but he carried her to his bed where she could sleep. He had slept on the couch though, because he didn't want to bother the librarian.

"Good morning Mr. Gold." She said as she walked downstairs, her bare feet cracked a bit on the wooden staircase.

"Good morning Belle." He smiled at her taking care of the breakfast "Do you want some orange juice? I made the table ready for breakfast."

The table was set for two, in a vintage breakfast style. Red roses gleamed in the light of the morning sun.

"Yes please." She said taking her seat "I didn't know you took breakfast so serious?" Belle said chuckling.

"I don't, well usually. Now I had to impress myself." Mr. Gold sat down and poured the orange juice in their glasses."

"Well I'm impressed, we didn't have such moments when I was younger." She took a bit from her toast "We didn't have that much money. But it was quite okay, and it teach me how to live with less." She said as he gave him a wink.

There he sat, he had breakfast with the most gorgeous girl in town, the smartest and the sweetest one. He really couldn't believe it, that she had slept in his bed.

"I better go to the library, would you like to join me for lunch?" she said standing up.

"I would love to Belle." She walked up the staircase to change her clothes "Oh Belle…"

"Yes?" she said turning around.

"Stay as long as you wish."

"Thanks Mr. Gold…" she said walking up further.

She wore her heels again, well kind of. It were black velvet ankle boots with a zipper on the side. Paired with a textured grey dress, tightly held together with a black belt, sheer tights and a white peter pan collar covered in silver statements. Her hair was captured in a side ponytail. She felt amazing, she was allowed to stay over at Mr. Gold's. And she kissed the man, she really kissed him.

"What did you do?" her father stormed in as Belle put the books she held down on the counter.

"Good morning dad?" she gestured.

"How could you ever leave Gaston, Belle. How could you ever in your life…"

"I didn't love him dad, I did it for you. Because you needed the money. But I have my own rights and I'm not letting myself begging for his love. I'm not a puppy or anything like that."

"Then where do you sleep now? At Mr. Gold's?" he became angry.

"How do you know about him?"

"I know more about him than you'd ever wish for lady! You're not allowed to see him."

"I'm what? Dad please leave my library, now." She became angry, how could her father ever say what to do now?

"You know Belle, sooner or later you'll cry for help. Ask him what he has done to your mother, ask him."

"I said leave my library, dad."

And he left mumbling the words _I've warned you. _Mr. Gold had nothing to do with her mother and her father should've stayed out of this.

Belle let herself fall on the ground, taking her seat against the counter. Not knowing what to do. She broke up with her almost fiancée, her dad is amazingly pissed and she doesn't even have a place which she can truly call home.

Hours full of struggling went over, Belle haven't seen anyone in the library yet. It was a rainy day, most people stayed inside.

"Hello dearie." Mr. Gold stepped into the library, "I brought us some lunch, I was planning a picnic outside… But I guess we have to do that inside, don't you think?" he gave her a playful wink, laying the picnic blanket on the wooden library floor and emptying the large basket.

"How sweet." She said giving him a forced laugh. She couldn't stop thinking about what her dad told her, _ask him what he did to your mother_. Mr. Gold didn't even know her mother, did he? All those questions kept staying stuck in her head.

"Well take your seat, Belle." Mr. Gold walked over to the blanket and took his seat, guiding his lady next to him.

"Did you turned the sign to closed?"

"Yes I did."

"Good…" she whispered in his ear, crawling up next to his warm body.

Mr. Gold took his daily walk across the village, as he always does later in the evening. Belle had fall asleep before he could ask her to join him, so he left her a note that he would be back in half an hour.

"Mr. Gold isn't it? Long-time no see."

Mr. Gold turned around, seeing the face of a man, the man from the flower shop.

"Sorry, do I know you?"

"From long ago, maybe I can help you remember." There was a brief silence "Colette."

Mr. Gold froze, nailed to the ground. He knew that name, Colette.

"You were her husband, am I right?"

"I still am."

"No you're not, she went along with me for a reason Moe. Of course, there was a part of her doing it for your safety. But the main reason was that she belonged to me."

"My wife wasn't something you can own! You should've known better." Moe French wanted to walk away but turned to Mr. Gold once again.

"Oh, and stay away from my daughter. Belle wouldn't like to know that you took her mother, beast." And he walked away.

Mr. Gold couldn't move. Belle was Moe's daughter? He didn't know, he never did. Maybe their surnames could have been a hint, but there are a lot of people called French around here. He was dating the daughter of freaking Moe and Colette. He didn't care about Moe, he was a selfish man. But he did care about Colette, for a little while… She was his everything, until they lot each other.


	6. How she missed her

**I'm sorry I didn't update last week! I'm very busy with my music performance exam so that's why I needed a little break.  
I just wanna give a huge thank you to my best friend, by helping me with this chapter. I really didn't know what to do and she helped me out! She goes by thequeenregina on and bethsphotoz on Instagram. She's an amazing writer!**

_**Chapter 6: How she missed her**_

It was an amazingly gorgeous day in Copper Valley. Belle couldn't wish for a better Saturday. The sun shined through the windows of the grand dining room which had this gorgeous view on the garden. Belle's soft pink skirt matched her furry white sweater perfectly. You could see the collars of her grey blouse sticking out of the sweater. Her grey pumps clicked on the wooden floor as her curls where pinned up half up in this little bun.

The brunette walked over to the long dining table, where she checked the time on her phone. She still had 15 minutes before she had to open the library, so she chose to make herself some tea.

"Good morning my darling." Mr. Gold said walking by, pressing a kiss on the lady's forehead.

"Good morning Mr. Gold…" she said chuckling as she walked over to the teapot, "Would you like some tea? There's still a bit left if you want."

"I would love to, oh and please take the black tea out of the upper shelf." He said walking over to the front door where he picked up his newspaper.

Belle did what he asked and grabbed a little tin box off the shelf. She opened it seeing no tea, but a picture of a woman.

Mr. Gold walked back as he saw Belle staring at the picture "Belle, that's not the black tea." He said takin away the box, including the picture.

"I noticed… Why do you have a picture of my mother hidden in a tin box?" she said as Mr. Gold turned back to her.

"I… I can explain it."

"What did you do to her?" Belle asked getting no answer "I said, what did you do to her Mr. Gold."

"You might want to take a seat dear…"

"It's Belle! I'm no dear to you and no I don't take a seat. I should've listened to my father right away. You really did do something to her didn't you?"

"You don't even let me talk!"

"Well okay you have one minute to explain, I need to go to the library." Belle said standing close to her boyfriend.

"Belle it might take more than a minute, please sit down?" he said grabbing her upper arm softly.

"Minute is over." She said walking out of the house, jumping into her car and driving to the library.

Belle threw her keys on the desk of the reception as she walked into the library, practically throwing herself onto the chair behind it. She ran a hand through her soft brown curls which fell over her shoulders. Why didn't she listen to her father… She should've done that sooner. If only she had of reached for the right tin… She wouldn't be in this situation.

And now she noticed, how much she missed her mother. She missed all the little things she could've done much more. And to see that Mr. Gold has a photo of her mum in his kitchen is disturbing to say the least? How did he know her?

Belle sighed as she remembered the time when she was too small to reach the tin tea bags on her mothers last Mother's Day. She still knew how she pushed the step up stool up against the cabinet so she could finally reach it…

_She got ready all by herself that morning. She chose a yellow sundress to wear that day. And not to forget how she carefully brushed her hair by herself, normally her mother helped her with that. She even used a tiny bit of hairspray. And then her own breakfast, which was a piece of toast with too much Nutella on it, she just wanted to show her mother how grown up she was. So of course she washed her face and brushed her teeth after, to be totally ready. _

_Belle was careful not to burn herself as she boiled the kettle, she had watched her father do it for the previous couple of weeks, she learned all the tricks and knacks. But to be extra careful, she took some heat-protecting gloves which where way too big for her. But she still insisted herself to use them. She grabbed her mother's favourite mug, a deep purple with a beautiful red rose that was predominant in the centre of it._

_She poured the hot water into the mug, placing the tea bag in it which smell like tropical fruits. Of course she forgot about the sugar, but the little girl was just so proud that she did all this by herself. She carried the mug oh so carefully up the stairs, careful not to spill a drop as she took each step with precision. _

"_Happy Mother's Day! She said as she carefully walked through the door of her parent's bedroom. Her mother pushed herself up to sit up in the large double sized bed as she saw the little Belle taking patient with walking and concentrating on the mug. _

"_Good morning Belle." She greeted her usual soft and melodic voice ringing through the air as the young brunette walked over to her side of the bed. _

"_I made you some tea mummy!" She said smiling bright, handing her first ever made cup of tea over to her mother. Her Mother's eyes already showed the joy she felt as she thanked her daughter. She took a sip, her nose scrunching slightly. _

"_Did you put sugar in this?" she asked as she still smiled with love. _

_Belle's eyes widened as her mum asked her. "No… No I forgot mummy…" she said looking at the ground, feeling less grown up than she did in the first place. _

"_Oh Belle, you've made it so it's already sweet enough my dear." She said before drinking it all up. _

"_I love you mummy!" Belle said as she crawled up on the bed, to hug her mother tightly._

"_I love you too Belle…" she said taking a pause, concentrating on the corner of her daughter's mouth, "Is that chocolate?" Her mum said fading the Nutella away. Guess Belle forgot a spot while cleaning her face…_


	7. Forgiveness

_**Chapter 7: Forgiveness **_

Belle woke up in this tiny bed, which was settled in the spare room of the library. She rushed her hand through her soft curls and checked her phone right away. _6 missed calls from: Mr. Gold_. She read. He left her a voicemail each call, but she deleted them right away. Just not wanting to come back. Seeing her dad wasn't an option either. Of course he was right about Mr. Gold, but he demanded her to be with Gaston... Only for the money, Belle thought. But she didn't want a life full of richness, not caring about what you could spend. She just wanted to be happy.

The young lady walked down the beautiful staircase, which lead to the library. She had already swept the floor, and cleaned the reception desk yesterday. So she could open her beloved library right away.

Belle's grey dress was long sleeved and fitted her body perfectly. She wore amazingly pretty light pink pumps, paired with some sheer tights and some lovely earrings. She didn't do anything special with her hair today, she just let her gorgeous curls fall over her shoulders.

"Hi… It's me again…" Mr. Gold took a brief pause, "I just want to know how you're doing… Please call me back Belle, I can explain everything, really. It just needs tome time and patience. I love you… Bye." And he hang up the phone. He knew she might be in the library, but what could he ever do to let her listen instead of screaming how much she disliked him.

Then the awful silence broke by someone knocking on his door. Mr. Gold walked over to his wooden front door and opened it carefully saying "Good morning, can I help you?"

"Are you Mr. Gold?" A young lady stood on his porch. She had this long, straight brown hair, but not as dark as Belle. Just a light coloured brunette. She had these incredible green eyes which looked at him desperately. The young lady wore a dark washed denim jeans, paired with these black coloured knee-height boots and a beautiful velvet red jacket made of this soft fabric.

"Yes.. Yes I am?" he kind of asked the young brunette.

"I am Ruby… One of Belle's friends. Can you maybe tell me why she doesn't respond to my texts anymore? Is she angry or anything?" there she stood, desperate. Not knowing where to find her friend.

"Well… Let's say I've hurt her."

"You have what?!" she yelled, "How can you ever hurt Belle! She's the most loving woman I've ever met and you've hurt her? What is going on in your head!"

"Maybe that's why I've hurt her, by accident my lady. Because she's amazingly loving and sees the best in everyone. Well I think everyone has done something wrong is their lives, just like me."

"Alright Mr. Gold. Then do you know where I can find my friend?"

"She hasn't respond to my calls and texts either, so I cannot guarantee anything… But she might be in the library."

"Oh my goodness, yes! Of course she is in the library, that's the most precious thing she has." She stopped for a brief moment, "Thank you mister!"

"Ruby wait." He said as she turned to the door again, "If you find her… Then can you please tell her, I love her?"

"Alright, as you've helped me. Now I shall help you with that." She gave him a wink and smile of kindness, and jumped into her car.

Hours passed away, and Mr. Gold couldn't stop thinking about his beloved girl, his Belle. So he decided to face the beautiful brunette herself by going to the library. He gathered all his courage and stepped into the car and drove to the library.

The man briefly touched the hack of the door, it wasn't locked. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, as something really scary was going to happen. Well it was kind of scary. He was going to express his feelings in front of his one true love. So he pulled the door open and walked inside. He heard his own shoes touch the wooden floor as he walked over to the middle of the building.

And there she walked by, Belle. She mentioned Mr. Gold and accidently dropped the books she held right away. It scared her, so she began to collect the few books directly with shaking hands.

"Sorry I didn't want to scare you…" Mr. Gold said not coming any closer for his own good.

"Well I expected you already in the early morning. But you didn't came, and only left me lots of messages. So I kind of gave up, as I wasn't planning on coming to you."

"I know Belle, I'm sorry… I was really scared for your reaction, so I gave you some space. Well except of the face I called you over and over yes." He slowly walked over to the lovely lady.

But she took a few steps back, "Why couldn't you just tell me about that picture. Or at least something about yourself… I don't even know your first name! Or shall I call you John Doe? A man without a name." she said gazing at the floor.

"Belle, sweetheart. If I told you about everything earlier, you would have left me right away. I wanted to build some trust."

"Well you've lost that now." And she turned around, wanting to walk up the stairs to the spare room.

"Did she told you?" Mr. Gold asked to break the silence.

"Who do you mean…"

"Ruby, your friend."

"Yes she gave a message from you if you was wondering about that."

"It's true, I love you. I love you with whole my heart. And why? Because you've accepted me for who I am in the first minute. No one ever did that. I just didn't want to put you in a world full of secrets. Because you see the world, as a loving place. A place you can call home. But my world is different, I have a code and I need to cherish that code."

Belle didn't move anymore, she stood still on the steps of the grand library staircase.

"Please, give me a chance to explain everything slowly. To be with you for longer than these days. Please… I'm asking you for forgiveness."

She still didn't move, it was like a world without time. They just forget about ever little second and stood still. And just when Mr. Gold wanted to go and leave his girl alone, Belle ran off the stairs. She ran into his arms, as the tears fell on her cheeks.

"Don't you ever dare to leave me with unexplained answers." She said through her tears.

"I promise Belle, I cannot ever hurt you." Mr. Gold said as he felt a tear sliding down his face.

He took her hand, and they both walked to the car to drive home.


	8. The mask of names

_**Chapter 8: The mask of names**_

"_He came up to me, to apologise. I didn't dare to come closer, it would be my weakness. But unfortunately I still did, I came close to him. And the tears just burst out of me, I had to. He is the love of my life, and that would never change. Ever. I still see him as the mysterious man, but now I know he has a heart of pure gold. Something no one can ever take away, something that cannot be ripped apart." _

Belle sat in the big chair which was settled in front of the grand window, she kind of missed his house. His smell, his smile… She was glad to be back again. And she wrote it all down in this little book. It was her diary, decorated with red roses. And oh she loved red roses, they always had them when her mother was still alive. Belle used to think the roses were immortal as they never died in their house. Well at least she thought they didn't. Her mother replaced them every single week, so it would be a symbol for infinity. _"It's like our love, it's infinite." _Her mother used to say to her.

"What are you doing my dear?" Mr. Gold said, standing behind her. Belle closed the little diary directly as she was scared by his voice in all the silence.

"You scared me…" she said looking up to her beloved boyfriend.

"Don't worry I won't eat you." And he gave her a little wink, planting a kiss on her soft lips, and walking over to the kitchen to make some tea for the both of them.

Belle stood up, walking over to Mr. Gold who placed her body in front of him, so the back of her head would touch his chest. And he crossed her arms in front of her body as he placed his chin on her head and held her close to him.

"Can I… Can I ask you a question?" Belle said holding on to Mr. Gold's warm body.

"Of course love…"

"What's your name?" she directly asked.

"My what?" he answered as she let go of his arms which held hers.

She turned to his face, "You never told me your name…"

"It's someone no one really knows though. I just always say I'm Mr. Gold."

"Then let me be the first one to know in this little town." And she gently placed her soft hands on his warm chest.

He bowed his head towards her ear to whisper, "I'll tell you when you will not expect it." He gently said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Well alright then." Belle gave him a playful smile and bite her lip, according to walk over to the front door and grabbing her nice cream coloured coat.

"Where are you going Belle?" Mr. Gold said as he held the teapot.

"I um… I need to take care of something. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know." And she walked out of the door as Mr. Gold placed the teapot back where it belonged, tea time with his lady had to be a bit later he guessed.

"Okay take a deep breath Belle, you can do this." She knocked on the wooden door, with a nervous feeling in her stomach.

The door opened, "I told you kids I don't want to buy your cookies…" the man swallowed when he saw it was Belle standing in front of him, "Oh, I'm sorry Belle…"

"Never mind Gaston." She took a brief pause "I um, I was thinking a lot lately and I wanted you to have this." She took a letter, sealed in an envelope, out of her pocket and handed it over.

"And why should I get a letter from you, if I may ask?"

"It's an apology, and a request." She swallowed, "I um, I can tell you but maybe it's for the best if you read it on your own… Goodbye Gaston." She said as she walked over to her car.

"Dear Gaston, I didn't really know how to tell you about my feelings so I thought it would be better to write it. I put my whole heart in this letter, just to let you know I'm sorry." He said as he read the letter. Belle had stopped walking but didn't turn around.

He skipped a part, "I'm happy, really happy now. And you kind of brought me to this happiness so I need to thank you. But this isn't a reward, as you've also hurt me. Really hurt me. It's a request, to let me live this happy life. I hope you'll accept this letter as an apology, but also as an end to all this misery. It's crystal clear and done now. Please, move on and find your happy ending the way it should be. – Belle." And he put the letter back in the envelope.

"Are you done?" Belle said still not turned around.

"Have a good life, Miss French." He said it like he never knew her. Like she was the lady of the library, _Miss French. _But it didn't let her feel sad or broken anymore. She knew better, she knew how pathetic he could be.

"You too." she whispered as she got into her car and drove away.

"Belle! Where have you been? I've been calling you since you was gone so long."

"I needed a short walk. Well short.. it seemed short but it turned out to be longer." She said, taking a seat on the large couch.

"Well, I'm glad you're home now, and dinner is almost done. Is that okay for you darling?" he said as he took his place next to her.

"That sounds good Mr. Gold…" and she gave him a loving smile as she laid down her head onto his shoulder.

"It's Robert."

"What?" Belle said, not knowing where he was talking about.

"My name, it's Robert…" he said looking away from her.

Belle placed her hand on the cheek which faced the other direction, "I love it…" she said as she gently pushed her lips on his.


End file.
